Virtual keypads set to grace Android phones
(Credit: T-Mobile)Ever since Apple's iPhone hit the market, some people have loved using a virtual keypad. Others have hated it.
Owners of Google's new G1 Android phones could soon have a choice to use either the existing slide-out QWERTY keyboard or a virtual keyboard like the iPhone's.
Google has added "soft keyboards" to its road map of future software releases. The new software hook is expected to be available for phone manufacturers as part of the source code in the first three months of 2009.
While there are many features to love about the G1, which is the first Android phone to hit the market, there are several items missing. A virtual keypad is one of them.
Without the touchscreen keypad, people have to slide out the QWERTY keypad to send text messages, IMs, and e-mail.
Marguerite Reardon has been a CNET News reporter since 2004, covering cell phone services, broadband, citywide Wi-Fi, the Net neutrality debate, as well as the ongoing consolidation of the phone companies. E-mail Maggie.
They are really nice and a perfect fit for a meeeting room that has its lights turned off for some overhead projection.
I do not mind my virtual keyboard on my iphone.
otherwise, I like the phone. a lot.
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by nebby74
November 6, 2008 7:28 AM PST
- Battery life has been excellent on my G1. Easily get 40-50 hours on a charge. Yeah, sure I'm not using it all day long for browsing and gaming, not 3 hour phone calls. But in the real world, with a handful of daily IMs, email or web searches, the phone is amazing. Virtual keyboard will just make it that much better. The trackball + keypad makes it so much easier to use than some other nameless touchscreen phone I darn not mention.
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